February 7, 2023 — Federal fishery regulators slashed the coastwide commercial quota for spiny dogfish by nearly 60%, from just over 29 million pounds to 12 million pounds.
The Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission’s spiny dogfish management board based its decision on declining trends in several indicators including survey abundance, catch per unit of effort, pup production and dogfish growth. New Jersey’s share of the quota fell from 2.2 million pounds, to just over 900,000 pounds.
While recreational fishermen have little palate for spiny dogfish ,which is viewed by this sector as more of nuisance fish that voraciously feeds on juvenile sea bass and fluke, and tangles up fishing line, gillnetters did establish a market for the spiny dogfish.